Opinion: Yes, we can trim Medicare spending

More than 90 percent of all Medicare spending goes to treating the two-thirds of beneficiaries who suffer from more than one chronic health problem. Giving these people better care for the dollar is the key to increasing the value of the program overall. This is why new legislation introduced in the Senate by Democrat Ron Wyden and Republican Johnny Isakson and in the House by Democrat Peter Welch and Republican Erik Paulsen is so encouraging. The Better Care, Lower Cost Act of 2014 would increase the odds that the slowdown in Medicare spending, noted in the most recent Congressional Budget Office data, continues to roll on, by nudging the system further from the fee-for-service model.